The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has honored many artists who are still with us, but they’ve also delivered a number of posthumous inductions. The latter is something that stuck in the craw of Dee Snider.
The Twisted Sister took to X (formerly Twitter) on May 11 and wrote, “DEAR RNR HALL OF FAME…There are bands who YOU KNOW are going to eventually be inducted because of their huge influence. How about NOT waiting until the entire band is DEAD? The MC5 are being inducted next month. The last living member died yesterday. RIP MC5. #ThatSucks.”
As previously reported, the MC5 are one of four artists being honored with the Musical Excellence Award as part of the 2024 Rock Hall induction class. The Musician Excellence Award is “given to artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music.”
While being recognized by the Rock Hall is a long overdue honor for the MC5, unfortunately, as Snider stated, all members of the classic lineup have died. Drummer Dennis Thompson died on May 9 from a heart attack at age 75. Former MC5 manager and counterculture icon John Sinclair died on April 2 at age 82. Guitarist Wayne Kramer died shortly before Thompson on February 2 at age 75.
Before a brutal 2024 wiped out the MC5, the band suffered two major losses in the 1990s. Singer Rob Tyner died in September 1991 at age 46 from a heart attack. Three years later, guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith died in November 1994 also at age 46 from heart failure.
So, with all of this bummer news in mind, perhaps this is time to list some artists that we hope will get into the Rock Hall before they die. Obviously, this is a very short list, but it’s a solid jumping off point for more discussion. As we all know, there’s always plenty to discuss when it comes to the Rock Hall.
